ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESS FOR FABRICATING ARTICLE EXHIBITING SUBSTANTIAL THREE-DIMENSIONAL ORDER AND RESULTANT ARTICLE

A structure, e.g., a photonic band gap material, exhibiting substantial periodicity on a micron scale is provided. Fabrication involves the steps of providing a template comprising a colloidal crystal, placing the template in an electrolytic solution, electrochemically forming a lattice material, e.g., a high refractive index material, on the colloidal crystal, and then removing the colloidal crystal particles to form the desired structure. The electrodeposition provides a dense, uniform lattice, because formation of the lattice material begins near a conductive substrate, for example, and growth occurs substantially along a plane moving in a single direction, e.g., normal to the conductive substrate. Moreover, because the electrochemically grown lattice is a three-dimensionally interconnected solid, there is very little shrinkage upon subsequent treatment.